Rugged Tactical Backpack with Full-Length Tool Sleeve

The pack that carries your long-handled gear.

A folding shovel, a rod tube, tent poles, a tripod, a survey staff — none of it fits inside an ordinary pack. So it ends up bungee-corded to the outside, where it snags on scrub, rattles loose on a corrugated track, and works its way off somewhere between the gate and the camp.

This pack deals with that by building the carry in. A padded, tapered sleeve runs the full height of the front panel. Zipped flat it lies against the bag and you would not know it was there. Unzipped it drops open into a long pocket that takes the handle end of whatever you are hauling, and two compression straps pull the load back in tight against your back.

Behind the sleeve sits one deep top-loading chamber with a removable padded panel, a drawcord-topped pouch on each side, and molle webbing across nearly every outer face for anything else you want to hang off it. It is a big, plain, heavily strapped bag built to be loaded up and dragged around, not a light day pack.

What It Does

• Carries the awkward stuff: the front sleeve takes long-handled gear that will not go inside a normal pack.
• Keeps it off your arms: the load rides on a padded waist belt and contoured shoulder straps instead of in your hands.
• Splits your kit up: a deep main chamber, two side pouches and a lid pocket keep gear separated rather than in one pile.
• Takes bolt-on extras: molle webbing across the front, the sleeve and both side pouches accepts pouches, a first aid kit or a bottle carrier.
• Packs flat when empty: zip the sleeve shut and pull the compression straps in and it loses most of its bulk.

Key Features

• Full-length tool sleeve: padded and tapered, zips flat against the pack or drops open. Supplier listings state it takes items up to about 1.168 m.
• Deep main chamber: single top-loading compartment closed by a drawcord and a strapped lid.
• Removable padded panel: a flat padded insert lifts out of the back of the main chamber if you want the space instead.
• Twin side pouches: drawcord tops under buckled flaps, one on each side, each carrying its own molle webbing.
• Molle throughout: webbing rows across the front panel, the sleeve and both side pouches.
• Padded harness: contoured shoulder straps, an adjustable sternum strap and a wide padded waist belt.
• Mesh back panel: raised mesh pads on the back and shoulder straps to lift the fabric off your shirt.
• Moulded grab handle: a rigid top handle for lifting it one-handed into a tray or a boot.
• Blank patch panel: a hook-and-loop panel on the front, supplied blank for your own patch.
• Five colourways: TAN, Army Green, ACU, MC and Black.

Limits

It is not waterproof. The old listing for this pack called it waterproof twice. It is not, and we are not going to repeat that. The fabric is coated and sheds a light shower, but the zips are not sealed, the side pouches are open under their flaps and the main chamber closes with a drawcord. There is no IP rating and no test certificate. In sustained rain water will get in. Use a dry bag or a liner for anything that must stay dry.

The 70 litre figure does not come out. The supplier states 70 L and that number has been on this page for a long time. The supplier's own dimension panel, which is in the image gallery, gives the pack as 650 mm high, 400 mm wide and 210 mm deep. Multiply those out and you get about 54.6 litres as a solid rectangular box — and a real pack with curved panels, seams and a harness always holds less than its own box. Treat 70 L as the supplier's marketing figure, not a measurement. Two other sellers of this same bag publish a different external size again, so the dimensions themselves are not agreed. If exact volume matters to your packing, work from the millimetres in the spec table.

We publish no denier. The old copy on this page claimed 1000D nylon. Two seller listings of the same bag both state 600 denier. Those disagree, we have not sighted a fabric spec from the factory, and nothing is printed on the bag, so we publish neither figure rather than pick the flattering one.

Weight is not stated. No supplier gives a confirmed empty weight for this pack. It is a large, heavily built bag with a lot of webbing and hardware on it, so do not expect a light one.

It is not certified for anything. There is no load rating, no standard marked on the bag and no certificate supplied. Do not use it where rated equipment is required.

The camouflage is a printed fabric. ACU and MC are just names for the patterns. Nothing here is issued equipment and the patch panel arrives blank.

Q & A

Will it actually hold 70 litres?

No, we do not believe it will. The supplier's own dimension panel works out to roughly 54.6 litres as a solid box before you account for curved panels and seams, so the real usable figure is lower again. It is still a large pack — 650 mm tall and 400 mm across — but pack it by the millimetres in the spec table rather than by the litre figure on the label.

What actually fits in the front sleeve?

Long-handled gear. A folding or full-length shovel, a rod tube, tent poles, a tripod, a survey staff, an axe handle. Supplier listings state the sleeve extends to take items up to about 1.168 m. It is padded, so it also protects what is in it from knocks.

Is it waterproof?

No. Water resistant at best. The coated fabric handles a shower, but the zips are unsealed and the side pouches sit open under their flaps. Nothing in it is safe from sustained rain or a river crossing without a liner.

What is the fabric made of?

A coated woven synthetic in an Oxford weave, which is what nearly all packs in this class use. We cannot confirm the fibre or the denier — the sources we can check disagree and nothing is printed on the bag — so the spec table says so rather than guessing.

Can I take the padded panel out?

Yes. The flat padded insert in the back of the main chamber lifts straight out if you would rather have the space, and goes back in the same way.

How long will it take to arrive?

Ten to fourteen days from the day you order, and we ask you to allow up to three weeks. Regional and remote addresses take longer again. Shipping is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs